The sweet potato market in the UK remains strong and according to Ian Crispin, Commercial Director at Pacific Produce, it should stay that way until the Autumn. The main reason for the lack of supply has been created due the US crop being affected with hurricane force winds and huge amounts of rainfall during their usual harvest window, towards the back end of 2018.
Pacific Produce import Honduran sweet potatoes for the majority of the year, and currently prices are fetching £7+ a box on large sizes, which beats the last record highs of £6 to £6.50 a box which were seen 4-5 years ago. “There is volume of good quality US product on the market just now from the big players like Scott’s Farm, as well as some inferior product from smaller importers with limited experience who are trying to catch a high market. However some indications suggest that by April / May the smaller US growers will be starting to run out of stock, and with a strong home market in the US, then prices could increase further.
For us, the Honduran supply started at the beginning of January as per normal and will run until the end of October approximately. We’ll then cover the gap with Chinese and Egyptian supply, in order to maintain our 12-month supply. What we have seen so far from Honduras has been excellent quality, the fresh-harvest Evangeline is a quality product and the Monty brand commands a strong following in the market place.”
The high prices, which Ian expects to remain at least until September when Egypt and Spain will start to enter the market, do not seem to have affected demand, “Of course the demand is typically higher in the winter months, and consumption does decrease as we come into summer, but sweet potatoes are becoming much more of a year-round product in recent years, due to their exceptional health benefits.”
The variety which Pacific Produce imports from Honduras is called Evangeline, and their long standing partner in Monty Farms has the exclusive licence to grow the variety in Honduras. It is an orange skin and flesh variety, and due to the fresh-harvest, nothing is stored for long periods and produces a moist and exceptional product.
“In the US they harvest all their sweet potatoes at one moment, and then store them for up to 12-month of supply. Their Covington variety is fully cured, and whilst this has its advantages, it also causes the product to have a higher dry matter, and more difficult to prepare for the end consumer. The Hondurans have an ongoing harvest and export the sweet potatoes semi-fresh, they arrive with plenty of internal moisture, providing a fresh and vibrant product that has a strong following, especially with chefs etc in the food service and wholesale sectors, as well as processing factories.”